Are you wondering how much longer local flower will be playing a role in Petal Passion’s bouquets? Well the first frost will make an end to all the abundance of fall flowers, but that could still be weeks away. And the hard rains, that are just as capable of destruction, have not really materialized yet either. So a word to the wise: make sure you get your fill of local flowers while we can still enjoy this abundance. Soon enough pickings will be slim and we will have to shift to more exotic varieties.
Dahlias, Zinnias, Monkshood, Toad lily, Asters, Strawflower, Clerodendron, Amaranth, Sunflowers, Verbena, Boston Fern, several varieties of Millet and still Roses too are all in season in Portland. It’s so interesting to me how the flowers that grow together are often strikingly beautiful in a bouquet even if the colors don’t necessarily blend. As a beginning florist I often felt that I needed to carefully buy flowers that ‘matched’ or complimented each other. This approach does make a nice bouquet but at times when I was forced to ‘make-it-work-with-what-I-had’ I often realized that these types of bouquets create much more interest and excitement than classical combinations that you’ll find in any florist shop. I do love creating arrangements in abundance and feel so lucky to have the botanical materials available to me for such a long time of the year. Yes October still has it going on. Make sure you do to! Go out to find grasses alongside the road, wander into your (or a friend’s) yard and cut a few greens for that structural stability and then pick or purchase Mother Nature’s last floral rays of summer, a bit of her ‘laughter’ before we’ll all have to embrace the warmth and cold of the upcoming winter with traditional holiday cheer.
